Everton Football Club are an English professional football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level in English football. Having competed in the top division for a record 107 seasons, they have played more top-flight league games than any other English team and have won the League Championship nine times—the fourth highest of any team.[2] Everton have remained in the top division since 1954, and were founder members of the Premier League in 1992.

Formed in 1878, Everton were founding members of The Football League in 1888 and won their first league championship two seasons later. Following four league titles and two FA Cup wins, Everton experienced a lull in the immediate post World War Two period until a revival in the 1960s, winning two league championships and an FA Cup. The mid-1980s represented their most recent period of success, with two League Championship successes, an FA Cup, and the 1985 European Cup Winners' Cup—their first continental trophy. The club's most recent major trophy was the 1995 FA Cup.

The club have a large fanbase and regularly attract high attendances, averaging over 36,000, 95% of stadium capacity.[3] Everton have a notable rivalry with neighbours Liverpool F.C. and the two sides regularly contest the Merseyside Derby. Liverpool F.C. were formed in 1892 by a breakaway group consisting of Everton's former president and a few players. The dispute also resulted in Everton leaving Anfield, their home ground at the time. The club have been based at their current home ground, Goodison Park, since 1892. Plans to move to a new 50,000 seater expandable stadium in Kirkby on the Liverpool city border were blocked by a public inquiry.

The club's home colours have traditionally been royal blue and white, with notable footballers donning the Everton shirt. The most famous is Dixie Dean, who scored a record 60 league goals in the 1927–28 season. Since 2000, the club has annually recognised notable former players, nominating an "Everton Giant" at the beginning of each season.

Everton were founded as St. Domingo's in 1878 [4] so that people from the parish of St. Domingo's Methodist Church in Everton could play a sport in non-summer months - cricket was played in summer. The founding date could be stated as two years earlier as that was when the cricket club was founded — many football clubs started out not playing football, however still retain the date of initial foundation. A year later, the club was renamed Everton F.C. after the local area, as people outside the parish wished to participate.[5]

It was not until 1927 that Everton's first sustained period of success began. In 1925 the club signed Dixie Dean who, in 1927-28 season, set the record for league goals in a single season with 60 goals in 39 league games, a record that still stands to this day. Dean helped Everton to achieve their third league title.[6]

Everton were relegated to the Second Division two years later during internal turmoil at the club. However, the club was promoted at the first attempt scoring a record number of goals in the second division. On return to the top flight in 1931-32 season, Everton wasted no time in reaffirming their status and won a fourth League title at the first opportunity. Everton also won their second FA Cup in 1933 with a 3–0 win against Manchester City in the final. The era ended in 1938-39 with a fifth League title.

The outbreak of the Second World War saw the suspension of League football, and when official competition resumed in 1946 the Everton team had been split-up and paled in comparison to the pre-war club. Everton were relegated again in 1950-51 and did not return until 1953-54, when finishing as runners-up in their third season in the Second Division. The club have been a top flight presence ever since.[7]

Everton's second successful era started when Harry Catterick was made manager in 1961. In 1962-63, his second season in charge, Everton won the League title and in 1966 the FA Cup followed with a 3–2 win over Sheffield Wednesday. Everton again reached the final in 1968, but this time were unable to overcome West Bromwich Albion at Wembley. Two seasons later in 1969-70, Everton won the League championship, nine points clear of nearest rivals Leeds United. During this period, Everton were the first English club to achieve five consecutive years in European competitions—seasons 1961–62 to 1966–67.

However, the success did not last; the team finished fourteenth, fifteenth, seventeenth and seventh in the following seasons. Harry Catterick retired but his successors failed to win any silverware for the remainder of the 1970s. Though the club mounted title challenges finishing fourth in 1974-75 under manager Billy Bingham, and under manager Gordon Lee, third in 1977-78 and fourth the following season. Manager Gordon Lee was sacked in 1981.[8]

Having won both the league and Cup Winners Cup in 1985, Everton came very close to winning a treble, but lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup final.[9] The following season, 1985-86, Everton were runners up to neighbours Liverpool in both the league and the FA Cup, but did recapture the league title in 1986-87.

After the Heysel Stadium disaster and the subsequent ban of all English clubs from continental football, Everton lost the chance to compete for more European trophies. A large proportion of the title-winning side was broken up following the ban. Kendall himself moved to Athletic Bilbao after the 1987 title triumph and was succeeded by assistant Colin Harvey. Harvey took Everton to the 1989 final, but lost 3-2 after Extra time to Liverpool.

Everton were founder members of the Premier League in 1992, but struggled to find the right manager. Howard Kendall had returned in 1990 but could not repeat his previous success, while his successor, Mike Walker, was statistically the least successful Everton manager to date. When former Everton player Joe Royle took over in 1994 the club's form started to improve; his first game in charge was a 2–0 victory over derby rivals Liverpool. Royle dragged Everton clear of relegation, and also led the club to the FA Cup for the fifth time in its history, defeating Manchester United 1–0 in the final.

The cup triumph was also Everton's passport to the Cup Winners' Cup—their first European campaign in the post-Heysel era. Progress under Joe Royle continued in 1995–96 as they climbed to sixth place in the Premiership.[9]

The following season, 1996-97, was not as successful and the club finished in fifteenth place. Royle quit in March. Club captain, Dave Watson, was given the manager's job temporarily and he helped the club to Premiership survival. Howard Kendall was appointed Everton manager for the third time in 1997, but the appointment proved unsuccessful as Everton finished seventeenth in the Premiership; only avoiding relegation due to their superior goal difference over Bolton Wanderers. Former Rangers manager Walter Smith then took over from Kendall in the summer of 1998 but only managed three successive finishes in the bottom half of the table.[9]

The Everton board finally ran out of patience with Smith and he was sacked in March 2002 after an FA Cup exit at Middlesbrough, with Everton in real danger of relegation.[11] The current manager, David Moyes, was his replacement and delivered Everton to a safe finish in fifteenth place.[12][13] After that harrowing season, in 2002-03 Everton finished seventh, the highest since 1996.

This period effectively saw Everton yo-yo-ing in the league, finishing a very poor seventeenth in 2003-04, and a remarkable fourth (their highest ever Premiership finish) in 2004-05, qualifying for the Champions League qualifying round. Yet 2005-06 had a nightmare start with Everton failing to make it through to the Champions League group stage and then an early exit in the UEFA Cup. Despite the poor league start, Everton recovered to finish eleventh.

It was under David Moyes's management that Wayne Rooney broke into the first team, before being sold to Manchester United for a club record fee of £27 million.[14]

The 2006–07 season saw Everton finish sixth in the league and attain UEFA Cup qualification.[19] In 2007, Everton completed the takeover of the Toxteth Tigers basketball team, with the rebranding of Liverpool's first ever top-flight basketball franchise, the Everton Tigers.[20] 2007-08 saw Everton once again gain European football with a fifth place league finish, although they were eliminated from the 2008–09 UEFA Cup prior to the group stages by Standard Liege. The domestic 2008-09 season saw Everton finish 5th for the second successive year and reach the FA Cupfinal for the first time since 1995.

Colours

Everton's second home colours

Everton's first home colours

During the first decades of their history, Everton had several different kit colours. The team originally played in white and then blue and white stripes, but as new players arriving at the club wore their old team's shirts during matches, confusion soon ensued. It was decided that the shirts would be dyed black, both to save on expenses and to instill a more professional look. The result, however, appeared morbid so a scarlet sash was added.[21]

When the club moved to Goodison Park in 1892, the colours were salmon pink and dark blue striped shirts with dark blue shorts then switching to ruby shirts with blue trim and dark blue shorts. The famous royal bluejerseys with white shorts were first used in the 1901–02 season.[21] The club played in sky blue in 1906, however the fans protested and the colour reverted to royal blue. Occasionally Everton have played in lighter shades than royal blue (such as 1930–31 and 1997–98) but these have proved unpopular with fans.

Everton's traditional away colours were white shirts with black shorts, but from the 1968 amber shirts and royal blue shorts became common. Various editions appeared throughout the 70s and 80s. Recently however black, white, grey and yellow away shirts have been used. The current kit is all black with pink trim, reflecting an old kit when playing at Anfield.[22]

The kit today remains royal blue shirts, white shorts and white socks although when playing teams away who also wear white shorts Everton typically wear all blue. Everton's goalkeepers will wear a lime green shirt with light grey shorts and socks at home and all black away.

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Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Everton's current shirt sponsors are Chang Beer. Previous sponsors include NEC, Hafnia, Danka, one2one and Kejian. For the 2008–09 season Everton became the first Premier League team to sell junior replica jerseys without the current name or logo of its main sponsor Chang beer, following a recommendation from the Portman Group that alcoholic brand names be removed from kits sold to children.[23] Everton's current kit manufacturers are Le Coq Sportif, who replaced Umbro from the 2009–10 season.[24]

The club currently has two 'megastores', one located near to Goodison Park on Walton Lane and a store in the Liverpool One shopping complex, named 'Everton Two'.

Crest

Monochrome Everton crest - featured on away and third kits

At the end of the 1937–38 season, Everton secretary Theo Kelly, who later became the club's first manager, wanted to design a club necktie. It was agreed that the colour be blue and Kelly was given the task of designing a crest to be featured on the necktie. Kelly worked on it for four months, until deciding on a reproduction of Prince Rupert's Tower, which stands in the heart of the Everton district.[25]

The Tower has been inextricably linked with the Everton area since its construction in 1787. It was originally used as a bridewell to incarcerate mainly drunks and minor criminals, and it still stands today on Everton Brow in Netherfield Road. The tower was accompanied by two laurel wreaths on either side and, according to the College of Arms in London, Kelly chose to include the laurels as they were the sign of winners. The crest was accompanied by the club motto, "Nil Satis Nisi Optimum", meaning "Nothing but the best is good enough".

The ties were first worn by Kelly and the Everton chairman, Mr. E. Green, on the first day of the 1938–39 season.[25]

The club rarely incorporated a badge of any description on its shirts. An interwoven "EFC" design was adopted between 1922 and 1930 before the club reverted to plain royal blue shirts, until 1973 when bold "EFC" lettering was added. The crest designed by Kelly was first used on the team's shirts in 1980 and has remained there ever since, undergoing gradual change to become the version used today.

Nickname

Everton's most widely recognised nickname is "The Toffees" or "The Toffeemen", which came about after Everton had moved to Goodison. There are several explanations for how this name came to be adopted, the most well known being that there was a business in Everton village, between Everton Brow and Brow Side, named Mother Noblett's, a toffee shop, which advertised and sold sweets, including the Everton Mint. It was also located opposite the lock up which Everton's club crest is based on. The Toffee Lady tradition in which a girl walks around the perimeter of the pitch before the start of a game tossing free Everton Mints into the crowd symbolises the connection. Another possible reason is that there was a house named Ye Anciente Everton Toffee House in nearby Village Street, Everton, run by Ma Bushell. The toffee house was located near the Queen's Head hotel in which early club meetings took place.[26]

Everton have had many other nicknames over the years. When the black kit was worn Everton were nicknamed "The Black Watch", after the famous army regiment.[27] Since going blue in 1901, Everton have been given the simple nickname "The Blues". Everton's attractive style of play led to Steve Bloomer calling the team "scientific" in 1928, which is thought to have inspired the nickname "The School of Science".[28] While the battling 1995 FA Cup winning side were known as "The Dogs of War". When David Moyes arrived as manager he proclaimed Everton as "The People's Club", which has been adopted as a semi-official club nickname.[29]

Stadia

Everton originally played in the southeast corner of Stanley Park, which is the site for the new Liverpool F.C. stadium, with the first official match taking place in 1879. In 1882, a man named J. Cruitt donated land at Priory Road which became the club's home before they moved to Anfield, which was Everton's home until 1892.[30] At this time, a dispute of how the club was to be owned and run emerged with Anfield's owner and Everton's chairman, John Houlding. A dispute between Houlding and the club's committee over how the club should be run, led to Houlding attempting to gain full control of the club by registering the company, "Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd".[citation needed] In response, Everton left Anfield for a new ground, Goodison Park, where the club have played ever since. Houlding attempted to take over Everton's name, colours, fixtures and league position, but was denied by The Football Association.[citation needed] Instead, Houlding formed a new club, Liverpool F.C..

Ever since those events, a fierce rivalry has existed between Everton and Liverpool, albeit one that is generally perceived as more respectful than many other derbies in English football. This was illustrated by a chain of red and blue scarves that were linked between the gates of both grounds across Stanley Park as a tribute to the Liverpool fans killed in the Hillsborough disaster.[31]

Goodison Park, the first major football stadium to be built in England, was opened in 1892.[32] Goodison Park has staged more top-flight football games than any other ground in the United Kingdom and was the only English club ground to host a semi-final at the 1966 FIFA World Cup. It was also the first English ground to have undersoil heating, the first to have two tiers on all sides.

The church grounds of St Luke the Evangelist are adjacent to the corner of the Main Stand and the Gwladys Street Stand.[33]

On matchdays players walk out to the theme tune to Z-Cars, named Johnny Todd, a traditional Liverpool children's song collected in 1890 by Frank Kidson which tells the story of a sailor betrayed by his lover while away at sea.[34]

Proposed new stadium

There have been indications since 1996 that Everton will move to a new stadium. The original plan was for a new 60,000-seat stadium to be built, but in 2000, a proposal was submitted to build a 55,000 seat stadium as part of the King's Dock regeneration. This was unsuccessful as Everton failed to generate the £30 million needed for a half stake in the stadium project, with the city council rejecting Everton FC in 2003.[36]

Late in 2004, driven by Liverpool Council and the Northwest Development Corporation, the club was in talks with Liverpool FC regarding sharing a stadium on grade two listed Stanley Park. Negotiations broke down as Everton failed to raise 50% of the costs.[37] On 11 January 2005, Liverpool announced that ground-sharing was not a possibility, proceeding to plan their own Stanley Park stadium.[38]

On 16 June 2006, it was announced that Everton had entered into talks with Knowsley Council and Tesco over the possibility of building a new 55,000 seat stadium in Kirkby. The stadium is expandable to over 60,000.[39] The club took the unusual move of giving its supporters a say in the club's future by holding a ballot on whether or not to move to Kirkby. The ballot returned 59.27% in favour.[40] However, an inquiry into the move to the Kirkby stadium was filed 6 August 2008, delaying the construction by at least 18 months.[41] The government has now rejected Everton's plans to move. Local and regional politicians are attempting to put together an amended rescue plan. Liverpool City Council have called a meeting with Everton FC with a view to assess some suitable sites they have short listed within the city boundary.[42][43]

Supporters and rivalries

Everton have a large fanbase with the ninth highest average attendance in England.[45] The majority of Everton's matchday support comes from the North West of England, primarily Merseyside and Cheshire. Everton also have many fans who travel from North Wales and Ireland. Everton also have many supporters' clubs worldwide,[46] in places such as North America,[47]Singapore,[48]Norway, Lebanon, and Thailand.[49] Everton also have a large supporter base in Australia, with midfield player and current vice-captain Tim Cahill being Australian.[citation needed] The official supporters club is Evertonia,[50] and there are also several fanzines including When Skies are Grey and Speke from the Harbour, which are sold around Goodison Park on match days.

Everton's biggest rivalry is with fellow Merseyside team Liverpool, against whom they contest the Merseyside derby. The Merseyside derby is usually a sell out fixture and tends to be an extremely stormy affair; it has had more red cards than any other fixture in Premiership history.[51] The rivalry stems from Liverpool's formation after an internal dispute with Everton officials and the owners of Anfield, the ground Everton were using at the time. Religious differences have been cited as a division, with Everton usually placed on the Catholic side;[52] however, both teams were founded with Methodist involvement, somewhat undermining the notion of a Catholic–Protestant split.[52]

Ownership and finance

Everton F.C. is a limited company with the board of directors holding a majority the shares.[70] The club owes £40.7 million to banks, excluding loan interest and early repayment penalties, with total liabilities of £89.3 million. Their most recent turnover was £79.7 million; the highest in the club's history.[71] The club's overdraft with Barclays Bank is secured against the Premier League's "Basic Award Fund",[72] a guaranteed sum given to clubs for competing in the Premier League.[73] Everton agreed a long-term loan of £30 million with Bear Stearns and Prudential plc in 2002 over the duration of 25 years; a consolidation of debts at the time as well as a source of capital for new player acquisitions.[74]Goodison Park is secured as collateral.

In 2004, the club were close to going to administration and had to sell England striker Wayne Rooney to balance the books.[75] Three years earlier Francis Jeffers and Michael Ball had to be sold after the club spent expected income on player acquisitions that never arrived.[76]

Notable former players

Everton Giants

The following players are considered "Giants" for their great contributions to Everton. A panel appointed by the club established the inaugural list in 2000 and a new inductee is announced every season.[77]

European

Records and statistics

Neville Southall holds the record for the most Everton appearances, having played 751 first-team matches between 1981 and 1997, and previously held the record for the most league clean sheets during a season (15). During the 2008/09 season, this record was beaten by American goalkeeper Tim Howard (17).[81] The late centre half and former captain Brian Labone comes second, having played 534 times. The longest serving player is Goalkeeper Ted Sagar who played for 23 years between 1929 and 1953, both sides of the Second World War, making a total of 495 appearances. The club's top goalscorer, with 383 goals in all competitions, is Dixie Dean; the second-highest goalscorer is Graeme Sharp with 159. Dean still holds the English national record of most goals in a season, with 60.[82]

The record attendance for an Everton home match is 78,299 against Liverpool on 18 September 1948. Goodison Park, like all major football grounds since the recommendations of the Taylor Report were implemented, is now an all-seater and only holds just over 40,000, meaning it is unlikely that this attendance record will ever be broken at Goodison.[82] Everton's record transfer paid was to Standard Liege for Belgian midfielder Maurouane Fellaini for a sum of £15m. Everton bought the player on the deadline day of the 2008 summer transfer window.